Meander Through Walkway of Lights in Marble Falls

Several things signal the start of the Christmas season. Holiday music and decorations in the stores. The first time the Hershey Kisses bell commercial runs on TV. Your kids running in from the mailbox clutching the new Christmas toy catalog and making a beeline to their notebooks to write down their wish lists. (Don't you wish they tackled their homework with such enthusiasm?)

But in Marble Falls, nothing says the Christmas season is here bigger and brighter than the Walkway Light-up Parade, which leads up to the official lighting of the annual Walkway of Lights.

This year's parade is Friday, Nov. 16. The floats and parade participants start lining up in the late afternoon before making their way along Main Street at about 6 p.m.

People set up their chairs and find their spots along Main Street even as the floats are in the staging line. Then, as the night sky overtakes the day, the parade makes its way north to south on Main Street.

Floats decked out in a rainbow of Christmas lights usher in the holiday spirit, joined by marching bands, cheerleaders, youth sports teams, and maybe even well-choreographed, plunger-carrying ladies.

Of course, there’s the man himself: Santa Claus.

It’s more than a parade; it’s a moving festival of lights.

When the parade ends, it’s only a short walk to Walkway of Lights at Lakeside Park, 307 Buena Vista Drive, for the official flipping of the switch, which will bring more than 2 million lights and lighted sculptures to life. Walkway of Lights is open 6-10 p.m. every night (weather permitting) through Dec. 26. Admission is free, but donations are always appreciated.

Santa Claus and a few of his elves will visit Walkway on weekends through Christmas Eve. It’s a great chance for the little ones to bring that Christmas list they’ve been making since early October.

Be sure to check out the concessions while you’re at Walkway of Lights as the sales help local nonprofits.

So, mark it on your calendar, get it on your list, and make a plan to attend the 2018 Walkway Light-up Parade and Walkway of Lights.